The Journal of Devon Beekeepers' AssociationBeekeeping

December 2019/January 2020 Vol 85 No 10

Beekeepers in our time. Over the top protection?

See page 210

2

200

BEEKEEPINGPublished by Devon Beekeepers’ Association Registered Charity No 270675

www.devonbeekeepers.org.uk

General SecretaryBarry NealBadgers Barn, LangtreeTorrington EX38 8NLgen.sec.dbka@gmail.comEditorial team Lilah Killock: Editor editor@devonbeekeepers.org.uk Nicky Langley: Subeditor subeditor@devonbeekeepers.org.ukMike Ticehurst: Compiler/Advertisements ads@devonbeekeepers.org.uk

To advertise in this magazine please contact the Advertising Secretary, email: ads@devonbeekeepers.org.uk

Your EC delegate or Branch Secretary can provide you with the log-in details for the restricted area of the Devon Beekeepers' website.

Items for the February 2020 edition of the magazine must be with the Editor by the 10 January 2020.

Copyright on all items rests in the first instance with Devon Beekeepers Association.

Contents

Chairman's Brood Box ......................201

Devon Beekeepers’ Day and AGM .............................................202

South Devon Beekeepers Convention .........................................203

Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs) 2019 .......................................207

Beware of Bee Wear ..........................210

Going With the Flow ..........................214

Fluid and Crystallised Brains ...........216

Proventriculus: Before the Belly ......219

Diary Dates .........................................222

For Sale ..............................................223

The views expressed in this magazine are the author’s own and not necessarily those of the Devon Beekeepers' Association or this magazine.

Vol 85 No 10

Useful website addressesAsian Hornet Action Team ahat.org.uk

British Beekeepers Association

bbka.org.uk

Devon Apicultural Research Group

dargbees.org

National Bee Unit nationalbeeunit.com

For independent subscribers in the UK the annual subscription to Beekeeping in 2020 is £14.50. Outside the UK the rates are: Within Europe £30.50 Outside Europe £37.50 Payment must be made in Sterling drawn on a UK bank. (If paying from any non-UK bank, a supplement of £6 to meet bank charges will apply.)Please apply to:-Lilah Killock Fosbery Bridgetown Totnes TQ9 5BAEmail: editor@devonbeekeepers.org.uk Make your cheque payable to “Devon Beekeepers' Association”

December 2019/January 2020

201

Chairman's Brood BoxTony Lindsell

Recently, I have had the good fortune to attend one national event and one local event both celebrating the honey bee and honey.

In October I travelled to Sandown Racecourse at Epsom, the venue of this year’s National Honey Show, where I enjoyed 2 out of 3 days of a very busy, informative and challenging programme. It really is a wonderful celebration of all things bees and honey from the extensive and varied entries displayed in the many competitions, to an interesting programme of presentations taking place in two separate conference rooms at the same time. These included multiple workshops covering skills such as making (and drinking!) mead, making honey beer and kitchen cosmetics, disease and pest recognition and exam techniques, plus an extensive and busy trade show where 'If it wasn’t in this show you didn’t need it'.

I chose to go to the Cooking with Honey workshop presented by Paul Vagg, which was great fun but I can’t say my lemon drizzle honey cake was a huge success. However, I learnt an awful lot about honey and its uses in cooking so look out for my cookery entries at next year’s Devon County and local shows.

The lectures covered a broad range of topics and many were presented by our fellow European Beekeepers who impressed me with their ability to present technical matters in very clear English - I wish I could do the same! The lectures didn’t steer away from controversy with one beekeeper trying to persuade us about the benefits of bee improvement through selective breeding and another beekeeper revealing how the honey bee had managed to survive a very long time, maybe a 100 million years, by adapting to a changing environment and that, therefore, bees know best. I won’t get involved in that one!

It was good to see a large contingent of fellow Devon Beekeepers at the show and all in all, it was a couple of days well spent. If you haven’t been to the Show then I can thoroughly recommend it.

Next, at the start of November, I went to the South Devon Beekeepers Convention at Totnes, now established as one of the show pieces of our annual calendar. I’ve been going to this event for several years and have never been disappointed. This year it again lived up to expectations. The lectures were really informative, challenging and well presented with friendly and welcoming stewards looking after us as if we were royalty. Thank you to Lilah and her team of volunteers: another Devon event celebrating the value and importance of bees and beekeeping.

It will very soon be supersedure time in the broodbox, as the old worn out queen is about to be replaced by a younger, more fertile and more attractive queen. At our AGM on the 14th December my term of office as your Chairman also comes to an end. I’ve been involved for almost 6 years with 3 years as Vice-Chairman prior to taking on the Chairman’s role. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to see and take part in the extensive part our members play across the County to promote and further

202the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment. I am very proud of all our members; you are doing a brilliant job.

I have so many people to thank for their support over the years and there are too many to list here individually; I would be in danger of missing someone out. Our Association however continues to flourish and develop. Thank you all.

Tracy and I would like to wish you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas period. May you be healthy in 2020 and may your Brood Box continue to provide you with healthy and abundant bees.

Devon Beekeepers’ Day and AGM

(Hosted by North Devon Branch)

Saturday 14 December 2019 in the Honey Shed at

Quince Honey FarmAller Cross, South Molton, EX36 3RD

Programme09.30 Complimentary tea/coffee10.00 Welcome and Introduction - Christopher Smith, DBKA President10.15 DBKA Annual General Meeting 11.15 Daisy Headley from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust 12.15 Lunch in the Quince Restaurant in the main building13.30 Presentations of awards 14.30 John De Carteret from Jersey Beekeepers: The Sequel to the

Jersey Asian Hornet Experience14.45 DBKA Prize Draw followed by Q & A session with DBKA Officers on

any issues members would like to raise15.30 Closure by Christopher Smith

Branch and Bumblebee Trust displays in the Honey ShedNBU, DARG, AHAT, Sherriff and Thornes stands

in the restaurant in the main buildingAmple, free parking

An extensive choice of refreshments will be available in the Quince Honey Farm restaurant in the main building. Packed lunches may be eaten in the Honey Shed.

Please note the programme may be subject to changeIf you have any queries contact 01769 572401 / hello@quincehoneyfarm.co.uk

Chris SmithPresident

203

South Devon Beekeepers ConventionViv ThornI love the South Devon Beekeepers Convention.

I love getting away from the seemingly endless list of jobs I know I should be doing, but never actually get around to. It’s great to meet up with beekeeping friends I haven’t seen for ages and have a natter and drink lots of tea. Lilah and her team always have a great mix of speakers, some controversial, some very learned and some national beekeeping treasures that we always enjoy. As I have matured into retirement, I realise that my brain has its own limitations and that it will only take away a maximum of three things from any talk or lecture – the acronym is KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. So, here are the kisses sent from

my recollection of the day.The first talk was from Dr Gerry Brierley (PhD) who recounted her self-designed

management of Lyme Disease, which she contracted in 2011 but which was not diagnosed until 2015. Lyme Disease may be transmitted by a tick bite and produces a lesion on the skin which looks like a target. It is often overlooked, and the insidious symptoms develop some time after the initial bite, but can lead to very debilitating and sometimes permanent neurological damage. Although Lyme Disease can be successfully cured with antibiotics if treated soon after infection, it is best to try to avoid getting bitten by ticks in the first place: wear long trousers and sleeves and be vigilant when walking in long grass.

Gerry manages her symptoms by using a variety of bee products and has become, in her own words, an Accidental Apitherapist. In her talk, Gerry listed many research papers from many different countries, which suggest the benefits to be gained from Bee Sting Therapy, Propolis, Royal Jelly, Apilarnil (drone larvae) and Podmore (dried dead worker bees).

She started the talk by giving a disclaimer that she is not a medical

Some of the delegates arriving at the start of the day

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204doctor and people should consult their GPs if they are worried that they might have Lyme Disease, and as a retired GP, I would completely agree with this.

There is an important point here in my opinion: Don’t believe everything you read or hear even if it is badged as research. Unless a research project is designed as a double-blind cross over, randomised trial, peer reviewed and part of a meta-analysis, there is a chance that the results may be subject to design or author bias, either deliberate or accidental. Anecdotal evidence can also be very convincing and misleading: how many of us believed that bee stings would be relieved by baking soda and wasp stings with vinegar because that is what our Grannies always told us? There is a real and significant danger in promoting spurious cures for serious illnesses, especially when talking to potentially vulnerable audiences who will grasp at any hope of a cure.

I can however, appreciate the vast amount of time Gerry has spent researching bee products and wish her a continued and full recovery. By the way, Gerry has also written a very nice children’s book about the bee hive called The Secrets of Hope the Honey Bee.

Our second speaker was Francis Ratnieks, Professor of Apiculture at the University of Sussex who was speaking on Policing and Conflict Resolution in Honey Bee Colonies. I was impressed with Francis: gifted teachers make complex information seem simple - they don’t need to bombard an audience with facts and figures.

Francis talked about the balance between the queen and workers within the hive. In any hive, with a queen in situ, a small proportion of drones (0.1%) will be the progeny of workers. However, many of these worker eggs will be destroyed by

other workers. In other words, workers police the hive to produce an outcome which favours the colony as a whole. If, however, a hive becomes queenless, about 40% of workers will lay haploid eggs, but all will be doomed unless another queen can be raised from an existing diploid (queen-laid) egg.

Our final speaker was Celia Davis who has spoken at the Convention before and is the author of two excellent books: The Honey Bee Inside Out and The Honey Bee Around and About. Celia’s talks at the Convention

were Mr Bee - the life of the Drone Bee,

Members of the audience settle down for the first talk of the day

The breaks offered an opportunity for beekeepers to catch up

205and a second talk on The Bee, Plants and the Environment. Celia reminded us of the anatomy of the drone and that his sole purpose in life is to fly to drone congregation areas and hopefully mate with a queen, after which his reproductive organs will be ripped from his body, but he will die happy in the knowledge that his genes have been passed on to the next generation. If the drone is unsuccessful in mating, which the vast majority are, he will succumb from exhaustion or starvation when the worker bees kick him out of the hive at the end of the summer. Nature is cruel at times!

Celia’s second talk looked more broadly at bees as pollinators: honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees. There are 20,000 species of bees worldwide; 250 of which reside in the UK of which one is Apis Mellifera, the honey bee. All bees are important pollinators and as beekeepers we should be concerned with the promotion and care of all pollinating insects, including honey bees and other species. It’s always a delight to listen to Celia who constantly exudes enthusiasm for bees and beekeeping.

We had a brief update on the local AHAT group and the very important work they

Celia Davis was happy to sign copies of her latest book for delegates

206are doing promoting the recognition of the Asian Hornet. Colin Lodge reminded us to spread the word and to ensure we are all confident at recognising this non-native predator.

So, what three things did I take away from the Convention this year?1. Two raffle prizes, lucky me!2. Do not take everything you hear or read as fact - even if it is promoted and

published as research.3. Treasure all our pollinating insects. The planet relies on them.Thanks to Lilah and her team for once again organising such an enjoyable day.

Thanks also to the companies who sponsored the event and brought their produce for us to peruse and purchase. If you didn’t make it to the Convention this year, make a date in your diary for next year. You won’t be disappointed.

The Trade Hall

207Drone Congregation Areas (DCAs) 2019

A DARG ProjectRichard Simpson and Peter Weller

For the last three years members of the Devon Apicultural Research Group (DARG) have explored several aspects of the question What determines the location of a DCA? Yet before one can even attempt to answer that question others arise: how do you identify a DCA, and which lure(s) work best? And while buttoning down the answers to those, more fundamental questions come to mind: behavioural questions. Who? Why? How?

The initial project was started in 2017 with Peter West and Richard Simpson leading the investigation. After the sad death of Peter West, Peter Weller took over. Peter Weller’s expertise in artificial intelligence lends yet another option to our research.

The research of primarily German academics1,2, conducted from the 1960s to the present day defined conditions under which DCAs might form, and analysed their composition. Much of the most intensive study has been carried out in an Austrian valley with a detailed picture emerging: the number of colonies represented, where the drones have come from, when they fly.2 In brief, their research indicates that DCAs can be quite numerous and widely distributed, some are bigger or more densely populated than others, form at temperatures from +/-19°C upwards during the afternoon. Drones favour flying towards a depletion in the horizon (a low point between two mountains), may use landscape markers, and can come from several hundred colonies accumulating to form a DCA population of over 10,000 drones where there is a sufficient colony density. In general, drones fly to a DCA nearer to their home hive than queens, according to Koeniger and Koeniger, mostly within 2 kilometres, whereas Ruttner and Ruttner, suggest a longer range and the opposite DCA selection choices.

Having apparently established indicative factors, in 2012 a team working in Puerto Rico tried to predict where DCAs should exist by plotting known apiaries on a digital map and using geographical information software to identify prospective DCA sites that met the criteria. They achieved a strike rate of 22.22% but felt that additional criteria could have increased their strike rate to 75%.3

Subsequently, the reported criteria were tested by a researcher in New Zealand using a mechanical drone (quadcopter).4 His results failed to establish the correlation one would have expected. Was that due to different place, different race of honey bees, different methodology, or just wrong criteria? Plainly, there is still plenty to find out, not least whether the criteria suggested for site location apply to Devon, or to all landscape types Senior Researcher , Alfie, monitors

remarkably noisy drones

208equally.

For DARG research we have used long poles. We have yet to test the vertical distribution above 6 metres, but poles give reasonable low-level results and are supremely portable and reusable. Our lure is a 2.5cm dark twig lightly dipped at one end in synthetic 9-ODA, the queen-drone attractant pheromone, obtained from Canada. That expense encouraged us to test three alternative baits: 9-ODA, a live virgin queen in a queen cage and a retired (dead) queen directly exposed. At a summer 2019 DARG meeting, an order of attractiveness quickly emerged: 1) 9-ODA (by some distance), 2) dead queen, 3) virgin in cage. Choosing not to imperil the live virgin queen by tying her directly to a flapping line, meant that one of our test queens was contained

while the other was exposed. One can debate whether that explains the difference in attraction, but at least it keeps the queen alive. Previously, we had tested another artificial pheromone called Temp Queen (sold by Thorne) which claims to replicate the entire queen substance. It proved ineffective for our purpose although is apparently effective for anchoring a queenless nuc.

As to places, we have had success but our results are limited to a few locations in the vicinity of Axminster. (We have plans to enlarge the data set.) We have found a high level of drone activity on 1) an elevated plateau, which is also the site of a Neolithic fort; 2) on a flat valley floor; 3) a sunlit woodland clearing. In both our principal finds, 1 and 2, the area of activity seems extensive and not particularly well-defined, a supposed feature of DCAs. On our plateau site, two areas of profitable open ground were separated by an area of rough ground largely covered in bracken. Activity virtually ceased over

the bracken, to be resumed once pasture or grassy tussocks was resumed. Perhaps the bracken is damper and cooler. Activity also seems to build up over the first five minutes or so. This raises the interesting speculation that the drones are coming to the queen from a naturally diffuse distribution, rather than setting up a defined DCA in advance of queen arrival. This was hypothecated by Dr Colin Butler of Rothamstead, discoverer of queen substance. He was sceptical about the existence of DCAs, at least in the flatter areas of Southern England where he tried to find them.

We also observed interesting drone behaviours. Drones accumulate over the first few minutes on site, rather like starlings joining a murmuration, apparently exciting themselves into a dancing frenzy, to be followed by an abrupt departure en masse.

209

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Over the next few minutes drones reassemble, or new drones arrive, repeating the cycle. Upon departure, the cluster of drones can sometimes be visually followed, bowling across the ground at a height of maybe 1 to 2 metres in a dancing or tumbling flight reminiscent of a swarm. Future research

Plainly the more researchers providing DCA inputs the quicker locations can be identified in more localities. The greater the data that can be interrogated to mine out any underlying characteristics, the sooner a picture will emerge, or standard predictions be negated. DARG therefore plans to open out the hunt to more members through the provision of a DCA Pack consisting of a vial of lure, instructions for identifying and exploring possible DCA sites and a standardised protocol to report their findings. Once DCA reports accumulate, common factors can be sought using data mining techniques. After the data collection protocol has been validated, a broader citizen science project can be contemplated. This would be open to interested DBKA members.

Alongside the DCA hunt our minds return to the earlier questions: Who? Why? How? Any mainstream beekeeping text will identify that the worker population undertakes tasks according to age. More informed and more recent publications will overlay this task allocation with a genetic component. Many tasks, such as water gathering or undertaking are performed by workers that share a common patriline (drone father). Then we get to drone populations. Despite the evidence from virtually all other herd, flock, or social animals that task specialisation is widespread, we are told that the drones do this, or the drones do that as though there is complete

210homogeneity across the drone population. The more one thinks about this, the more it looks simplistic. Drone populations will have an age distribution: some will be smaller, slower flyers, lower endurance, lower sperm viability, less viable or desirable as mates. Mating dominance is widespread in nature, particularly in insects, so why do we ignore these behavioural aspects for drone populations? The strongest drones might have the best chance of mounting the queen, but even a weaker, old drone on frayed wings can still contribute to a pheromone plume, or a predator distraction mass even if he is not the best mating material. And if drones fly at times in a swarm-like formation are there other parallels? Swarms are guided to their new home by scouts flying through the whirling cloud of workers. Such scouts have to have familiarised themselves with the location of the new home and be recognised by the rest of the population as the ones to follow. Do drone populations have scouts that firstly establish the DCA and then lead groups of drones, possibly hive-mates, in a group mating flight? We don’t know, but we do feel the full DCA story has yet to be told, and DARG intends to contribute to its unravelling.

A selection of our results so far can be viewed on the DARG website at http://www.dargbees.org.uk/1. Breeding Techniques and Selection for Breeding of the Honey Bee, 1988, Prof. Friedrich Ruttner2. Mating Biology of Honey Bees, Gudrun and Nicklaus Koeniger, Jamie Ellis, Lawrence Connor3. A Landscape Analysis to Understand Orientation of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Drones

in Puerto Rico, A. Galindo-Cardona, A. C. Monmany, G. Diaz, and T. Giray Environmental Entomology 44(4), 1139-1148, (1 August 2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv099

4. An investigation of Honey Bee Drone Congregation Area formation in rural and semi-rural locations in New Zealand, David Cramp, https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/14123

Beware of Bee WearGlyn Davies

I’ve recently seen advertised what is claimed to be a sting-proof bee suit! It looks a great invention but admittedly rather expensive at over £300. Cool on a hot day and well ventilated. Light and easily washed. Handy pockets and ... completely sting proof!?

Apart from the cost, it sounds great. It’s just the sting-proof quality that concerns me. Greatly. It’s not that I doubt its super-rated, anti-sting qualities; that may be so. It’s the message that stings have to be avoided at all cost. Fortunately, bees do tend to sting invaders of their home, particularly creatures that do so clumsily or with lack of respect or with intent to rob. There are high value products within their home that have to be defended. So, if a beekeeper handles bees inappropriately then

A Lady Beekeeper around 1920. Is there a veil on her hat? She's hiving

a swarm; no smoke needed

211stings should be expected. For beekeepers, who have to work in hot weather and carry out delicate and sometimes heavy manoeuvres, involving tens of thousands of bees, stings are sometimes inevitable.

Experience shows however, that stings are mostly not routine and not always inevitable. Mostly they occur as a result of mistakes, accidents, poor handling technique and already anxious bees. I believe sting-proof suits can weaken beekeeper skills and there is always the unexpected exposure such as an open zip or an inquisitive forager scouting around the bee shed that will make a mockery of the costly sting-proof outfit.

Now this may sound like heresy to some people but I reluctantly say that if anyone

is seriously allergic to bee venom or just frightened of being stung then don’t be a beekeeper. No one takes up boating if they

are easily seasick. People who suffer with vertigo don’t become rock climbers. Fortunately, if newcomers are anxious, several natural phenomena exist to help

This young boy in his school cap and short trousers is sensibly wearing elasticated cuffs but is quite relaxed without veil or other

protection. Date approx 1935.

212minimise risk and pain from stings. First our wonderful bodies. Most of us soon adapt physiologically to regular bee venom in our blood. Swellings and irritation soon become minimal and the undoubted hurt at the moment of sting, especially on fingertip or nose, rarely lasts more than a minute or two. Of course, really new beekeepers must be vigilant just in case they are amongst the very small percentage of people who are seriously allergic to the point of anaphylaxis. In early days, never work bees on your own. Mentoring beekeepers should be familiar with the signs and procedures for this rare but serious occurrence.

Colonies of bees do vary in temperament and having a good strain of bee in this respect eases sting anxiety and increases beekeeper confidence. However, bees know when you are afraid of them and will take advantage, just like dogs, horses and any animal in fact. Even a class of children! But bees will be extra defensive at times. So, we have to manage a colony appropriately, and even postpone handling accordingly. Here’s a list.

1. When a colony is queenless. 2. When they are short of stores. 3. When a honey flow has stopped. 4. In colder, wetter weather. 5. If overcrowded.6. Lack of space for the queen to lay. 7. Suddenly knocked or shaken hive or frames. 8. Fast movement over exposed frames. 9. Presence of a threatening pest or disease. 10. The scent of already used venom.11. The scent of human breath or fear. When are bees likely to be difficult?

Beekeepers should be aware of conditions in and around a hive of bees. Interestingly, if any of these threats become excessive, bees can become demoralised so that they

“surrender” and do not defend their colony from these threats. Look at the traditional driving procedure. The beekeeper may have a more serious if more gentle problem

Here's a confident, smartly turned out lad. No bee protection at all. But what sort of box and frames does he have?

Date approx 1930.

Driving bees from a full skep into an empty one. David Charles, Somerset BKA and

BBKA past President; he is wisely using a veil

213to consider if bees have lost their “fight”.

But are bees today so different in temperament from those in the past? Have we become over cautious and so nervous compared to earlier generations of beekeepers that super protection is now considered essential?

The late and great John Yates of Plymouth Branch, co-author with his gentle and charming wife Dawn, of the still popular Study Notes for BBKA Exams, was very concerned about the negative effects of over-protection. When assessing Basic candidates, he wouldn’t allow gloves to be worn; and if at all, only in extreme circumstances in difficult bee management. His contention was that being gloveless, apart from allowing more careful and accurate control, the beekeeper can sooner detect when bees are becoming agitated. This could signal important subtle, information for the beekeeper to assess management plans; whether more smoke might be needed or even which colonies should or should not be allowed to reproduce and so improve bee behaviour generally.

Looking at the historical pictures here, is there a possibility that these days we are using excessive, protective bee wear? Are we giving the impression to children and even to adult newcomers that bees and stings are to be feared and avoided, not just understood, respected and properly controlled?

Incidentally, one of the best innovations for beekeepers in recent years has been the use of thin disposable latex or vinyl gloves. They do not protect from stings but they can reduce colony cross-infection, keep hands clean, and maintain accuracy and sensitivity. They also give confidence. I’ve no direct evidence but it seems to me that bees are much more ready to sting your hands if they smell your skin and sweat directly. And over-used leather gloves with

The guy with the pitchfork is taking a risk. Or does he know exactly what he is doing? The

lady in the centre is 'tanging' on a metal shovel. It is supposed to help swarming bees to settle. They all seem to know exactly what they are

doing, without worries

Driving bees; Thomas Cowan's gardener over 100 years earlier. The gardener relies on just a

Bingham smoker. Is this a dying skill?

214impregnated venom will certainly unsettle bees. It’s pleasing that BBKA is now urging the beekeeping supplies companies to exclude leather gloves from beginners’ kits.

So be grateful for bee stings. Work out why a sting happened. Understand your own reactions. Be slow and gentle and sensitive. Use all your senses to understand how bees are responding to you. Those are the messages that I believe are important and which lead to skilled beekeeping. Photos 1. 2. and 3. W. Herod-Hemsall Beekeeping New and Old with Pen and Camera, 1930, Photo 4. David Charles, Photo 5. Thomas Cowan, Photo 6. Modern Beekeeping, A Handbook for Cottagers BBKA, 1884, Cover photo. Glyn Davies

Going With the FlowPart 5: Moving Day

Andy Bullen

Saturday during the summer months at the TBKA (Torbay Beekeepers Association) Apiary is always a busy day. Newbies and experienced beekeepers alike gather round the Gazebo and listen to Glyn (the Apiary Manager) give his customary, helpful advice, before splitting into groups and inspecting the hives.

This Saturday though is moving day for my bees. Having effectively been living in a Nuc all their lives, today they get the keys to a brand new, spacious Flowhive. After inspecting my group’s hives, Angela, a friend who has agreed to help with with the move, and I make our way to my Nuc.

Angela is a key component of the operation as she has already gained valuable experience cable-tying National frames to the Langstroth frames for her own Flowhive.

Flow Hive Without Super in the Apiary

215The process begins, and initially all is going well. We cable tie the National frames

to the Langstroth frames and we place them carefully in the Flowhive. The bees are reasonably calm. However, there is some trouble putting the last frame in the Flowhive as it seems a little too big. Just then, at this tricky stage, the bees decide enough is enough and become a bit agitated. Lynette (TBKA Treasurer) pops over to help and within minutes all three of us are covered head to foot in bees. Eventually, even if it is a bit of a squeeze, the last frame is in place - but now the Queen is reluctant to leave the Nuc.

No matter how hard we try, we can’t catch her. Glyn appears by our side to ask what’s going on. After a brief explanation he looks in the Nuc, rummages around, and also can't find her. He picks up the now almost empty Nuc and with a short, sharp crash, smashes it down on the Flowhive. In hindsight he is very gentle but at the time I thought this is probably the end for Flo my queen. (Yes, I know I shouldn’t … but I did.)

Glyn then says that if she’s is not in the hive yet, she soon will be and not to worry. We reassemble the hive and go for tea and biscuits, as is customary at the TBKA Apiary and probably every other club apiary around the country.

The next day I return to check on the girls. I resist the temptation to open the hive but I can see the bees coming into the hive carrying pollen in large amounts. Although I’m a newbie, I know pollen being carried in is a good sign, and the queen is more than likely inside doing her stuff.

I am finally a Beekeeper with my own hive.Next month – the first inspection

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216

Fluid and Crystallised BrainsJeremy Barnes

An article in the July 2019 issue of The Atlantic by Arthur Brooks references the work of the British and American psychologist, Raymond Cattell. Born in England in 1905, he studied at the Universities of London, Exeter (he lived in Torquay) and Leicester before moving to the US in 1937, researching at Columbia and Harvard and finally settling at the University of Illinois. He died in Honolulu at the ripe old age of 92.

Cattell’s interests and publications were wide ranging, but of import to us is his theory of general intelligence, published in 1971, which distinguished between fluid and crystallised brains.

Fluid intelligence is the ability to reason, analyse, and solve problems using skills such as comprehension, problem solving and learning. It depends on working memory capacity localised in the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that degenerates faster than other cortical regions as we age. Fluid intelligence, he argued, peaks at around age 20, and then gradually declines.

Crystallised intelligence, by comparison, is the ability to use knowledge gained in the past. It is like having access to a large library and knowing how to use it. Unlike fluid intelligence, which is inductive, crystallised intelligence is deductive, and as such is the essence of what we call wisdom. This ability to examine issues from a wide variety of experiences increases through one’s forties, Cattell suggested, and diminishes only much later in life.

An example he used was that of a young engineer with a more fluid intelligence who might focus on the theory of engine functioning, while his older colleague who, having worked on airplane engines for 30 years, might have a significant amount of crystallised knowledge about the practical workings of these engines. These two types of abilities complement each other and work together toward achieving a common goal.

In a more modern world, most successful tech entrepreneurs create their start-up companies early in life, and studies by Dean Simonton show that poets tend to have written more than half of their creative life output by the age of 40, whereas historians, who rely on a crystallised stock of knowledge, don’t reach this milestone until the age of 60. In colleges and universities, younger professors are typically research-oriented, while their older kin enjoy teaching (which requires a large store of fixed knowledge) and get better evaluations from their students.

There are exceptions of course, but no matter what our vocation, as we age, we can dedicate ourselves to sharing knowledge in some significant way. Such is the role of grandparenting.

In my case, I am resistant to learning to having to learn new skills, even as this was once a challenge I relished. It can be as simple as mastering a new phone, a new remote control for the TV, or, heaven forbid, an updated computer operating system. And yet I could not have written these articles earlier in my life, when I was busy

217

218living the various experiences that now weave their way through each instalment. Only with time have I begun to see some of the connections, to make some sense of what otherwise appeared random.

Hindus have a similar, though four-stage developmental process, called ashramas. The first, Brahmacharya, is that of youth and young adulthood dedicated to learning. The second, Grishastha, is that time of building a career, accumulating wealth and creating a family. One of life’s traps is to become attached to earthly rewards - money, power, sex, prestige - and try to make it last a lifetime. The third is Vanaprastha, as one studies and trains for the last stage of life, which is Sannyasa, when one is dedicated to the fruits of enlightenment.

The lesson, irrespective of belief system, is that, as we age, we need to resist the conventional lures of success in order to focus on more transcendentally important things, to move beyond common thought and experience to a more mystical and supernatural mode of awareness.

We know that honey bees have brains that are capable of learning, and although they are small - the size of a sesame seed, which is 20,000 times less massive than our own - they contain about one million neurons, compared to 100 billion in the human equivalent, and are ten times more dense than a mammalian brain.

The bee brain is a sophisticated sensory system which provides excellent sight and smell abilities with the ability to make complicated calculations on distances for different locations as well as the ability to remember various colours and different landmarks.

So, the question arises, is the brain of a young honey bee more fluid and does it crystallise with age, like our own? We know that the young worker bee goes through a variety of tasks, starting with cleaning out her cell and progressing to tending to the queen, receiving nectar, disposing of dead bees, feeding brood and defending the hive. The signals for each stage are partly environmental, partly pheromonal, but is it the younger fluid brain that makes the worker responsive to a system of constantly changing tasks?

After about four weeks, when she has accumulated a variety of knowledge and experiences within the hive, she becomes a forager for the last two weeks of her life. It is not a simple transition in that learning the layout of the local environment clearly requires fluidity, and she can change what she collects and how much of it she brings home depending on the signals she receives from the house bees. But is it possible that even as her brain is crystallising, her astute knowledge of the complex workings of a hive provides the wisdom needed to perform one final, extensive and complex task essential to the colony’s wellbeing?

Synchronistically, in his Fall newsletter, Gunther Hauk offers another variable on this concept. With the flexibility and coalescence of the colony, the superorganism in mind, he writes Now comes the miracle par excellence: a queen can lay 1,500 to 2,000 eggs per day and, lo and behold, the weight of these eggs surpasses her own body weight! The nearly unending source of food she receives from the worker bees attending to her every need is being digested and almost instantly transformed into eggs. Is it any wonder then that the denatured food the honey bees receive from humans, in the form of sugar or corn syrup – fed to them for their winter provisions –

219results in a lower quality of food for the queen?

Add to this the poisons the foragers bring home with their bounty of nectar and pollen – we know that these have a cumulative effect even in the highest dilutions – and we have two major causes for the present-day epidemic of brood diseases; foul brood and chalk brood. Additional reasons are the artificial raising of queens from worker larvae, as well as the lack of a diversified diet due to medicinal ‘weeds’ being eliminated in our ‘clean’ agriculture, or more often than not, monoculture.

All of these factors are bad enough, but add to these the stress that millions of queens experience, being shipped like spark-plugs long distances and then introduced into existing colonies as strangers. Is it any wonder that within the last 45 years queens’ life expectancy has more than halved? Today, queens rarely live longer than one or two years. A side effect of this quick turnover is often ignored: the resulting youthfulness of a colony. Youth is highly valued in our modern society, but we fail to acknowledge that in our modern bee colonies a healthy maturing process is now missing, and with it the accompanying wisdom that comes with age. Resourcefulness is usually learned from life experiences, which present a diversity of problems to be solved. Youth in its exuberance tends to be more inept at coping with problems.

As the 17th Century Welsh priest and poet, George Herbert, suggested Life is half spent before we know what it is.

Proventriculus: Before the BellyGraham Kingham

Dade Plate 9: Dissection of Worker; Alimentary Canal Displayed

The entire honey bee castes have a filtering valve, called a proventriculus (meaning before the belly) situated in their honey stomach, also known as the crop. This acts as a storage organ for nectar and water and is capable of great distension. The filtering is done by the mouth piece that sticks up into the crop; which prevents the contents of the crop from running into the true stomach, the ventriculus. See Dade’s Plate 9.

Both crop and proventriculus have an outer layer of transverse musculature and an inner layer of longitudinal musculature. The longitudinal musculature of the proventriculus is powerful and by contraction causes the lumen (cavity) of the organ to enlarge. The 'lips' are extensions of the folds beyond the encircling band of transverse musculature. The combs of filiform (thread-like) hair on the edge of the folds appear to be capable of being folded in upon the surface of the fold or to be opened away from the surface.

220These hairs give unrestricted entry to pollen

grains rushing in to the expanding lumen (cavity) of the proventriculus; they are capable of filtering particles as small as 1 micron. The contraction of the circular muscles will cause the expulsion of the fluid contents of the proventriculus back into the crop; the thicker sphincter layer preventing entry into the ventriculus (true stomach). Pollen grains will be sieved off by the comb and forced into the pouches as the folds collapse upon each other. Repeated intake and expulsion of contents in this manner will gradually cause a mass of pollen grains to accumulate in each pouch. Finally, a large mass of pollen grains is collected, and then the contraction of the circular muscles forces this large bulk against the hairs of the combs.

A bolus (a ball) of pollen then passes through the neck into the ventriculus leaving but a few grains of pollen behind in the collapsed pouches. Whitcomb & Wilson in 1929 showed that the shells of the pollen grains are not broken at any stage, yet their contents are completely digested in the ventriculus. The boluses pass quite quickly towards the posterior end of the ventriculus within 5-20 min, depending on the concentration and amount of pollen suspension which is fed. The proventriculus filters off the pollen as compact masses and leaves the nectar or honey behind.

One Australian study in 2004 found that between 0.15% and 0.433% of pollen has been left in honey, showing how effective a filtering mechanism it is. This alone probably facilitates the digestion of pollen, since the proteolytic enzymes (these are also called protease, proteinase, or peptidase, and are any of a group of enzymes that break the long chainlike molecules of proteins into shorter fragments, peptides, and eventually into their components, amino acids) are not diluted by an excess of fluid. The proventriculus therefore serves the purpose of dividing the two principal items of food for separate treatment. The volume of fluid within the honey stomach, the size of particles in suspension and their concentration has significant effects on the rate and efficiency of filtration by the proventriculus.

Within the ventriculus, the swallowed pollen is kept within a membrane, the peritrophic membrane. These thin membranes are secreted by the cells lining the ventriculus (epithelial cells). Nearly all insects have membranes like these, and a

The proventriculus lips shown inside the crop (the crop has been removed) X40

Mouth showing lips, pouch and lumen X100

221

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considerable amount of study has gone into establishing the role that they play in digestion. In the honey bee these membranes are produced by some of the epithelial cells and successive sheets of membrane peel away from the wall and coat each bolus of pollen as it arrives. The membranes were previously thought

to provide protection for the lining of the ventriculus from sharp points on the pollen. However, it is more likely that they are important in concentrating a range of digestive chemicals (enzymes) where they are most needed. All photographs by G KinghamDade drawings by kind permission of IBRADade: The action of the Proventriculus of the Worker Honeybee, Apis Mellifera L. by L. Bailey Bee Research Department, Rothamsted Experimental Station (Received 13 October 1951)

Inside view of lip X400, showing long filiform hairs about 70 microns long and bristles

222

Diary Dates

East Devon eastdevonbk.co.uk 01404 841629

Exeter exeterbeekeepers.org.uk 01392 832956

Holsworthy holsworthybeekeepers.org.uk 01237 440165

Newton Abbot nabk.org.uk 07935 041168

North Devon northdevonbees.org 07791 679283

Okehampton okehamptonbee.co.uk 01363 82361

Plymouth plymouthbeekeepers.btck.co.uk 01752 338279

Tavistock events.tavistockbeekeepers@gmail.com 07709 977646

Tiverton tivertonbeekeepers.org.uk 01363 860252

Torbay tbbk.co.uk 01803 844804

Totnes & Kingsbridge totnesandkingsbridgebeekeepers.com 01803 866028

Members may attend meetings of any Branch but it’s advisable to telephone the Branch Secretary first. Contact details are:

DecemberTue 3 11:30am North Devon Quiz and Mince Pie Day (Horestone Apiary)Thu 5 7:30pm East Devon Peter Weller Swarming Experiences and

Christmas Social (Kilmington Village Hall)Sun 8 12:00pm Plymouth Christmas Lunch (Boringdon Golf Club)Mon 9 7:00pm Exeter Graham Kingham Practical Microscopy Making

Pollen Slides (Newcourt Community Centre)Mon 9 7:30pm Holsworthy Social Event (tba - please check website)Mon 9 7:30pm Torbay Christmas Social Meeting: please bring a plate of

food to share (St Paul's Church, Paignton)Sat 14 9:30am DBKA President's Day and AGM (Quince Honey Farm,

South Molton)Sat 14 2:00pm Newton Abbot Ken Edwards Nucleus Hives (Clay Lane Apiary)Sun 15 10:00am Plymouth Module Study Group (Branch Apiary)Mon 16 7:30pm Exeter Dr Andrew Higginson What Bees Want

(Topsham Rugby Club)JanuarySat 4 1:00pm Totnes &

KingsbridgeDemonstration of oxalic acid treatment (Branch Apiary)

Sat 4 2:00pm Newton Abbot Treatment for varroa using oxalic acid demonstration (Clay Lane Apiary)

Sun 5 10:00am Plymouth Module Study Group (Branch Apiary)Mon 6 7:30pm Torbay Introduction to Beekeeping Beginner's Course

(St Paul’s Church, Paignton)

223Thur 9 7:00pm Totnes &

KingsbridgeBeginners Course Session 1 (St Luke's Church, Buckfastleigh)

Mon 13 7:30pm Holsworthy Andrew Brown B4 Project on Native Black Honey Bees (The Stables, Chilsworthy)

Mon 13 7:30pm Torbay Gerry Stuart Swarming (St Paul’s Church, Paignton)

Tue 14 7:30pm East Devon Wally Shaw Self-sufficiency: Locally adapted bee and apicentric beekeeping (Christian Fellowship Hall, Bridport)

Tue 14 7:30pm Plymouth Quiz Night (Blindmans Wood Scout Centre)Wed 15 7:00pm Tavistock Christmas Social, Honey Taste and Quiz

(Tavistock Parish Rooms)Fri 17 7:00pm Tiverton New Year Bring and Share Social (Uplowman

Village Hall)Sun 19 10:00am Plymouth Module Study Group (Branch Apiary)Mon 20 7:30pm Exeter Tricia Nelson Variations on a Beehive - All You

Need to Know (Topsham Rugby Club)Mon 20 7:30pm Torbay Introduction to Beekeeping Beginner's Course (St

Paul’s Church, Paignton)Tue 21 7:30pm Torbay TBKA Committee Meeting (Sainsbury's, Paignton)Sun 26 10:00am Plymouth Wax Extraction and Frame Making

(Branch Apiary)Sun 26 12:00pm North Devon Centenary Lunch (Great Torrington Town Hall)Thu 30 7:30pm Torbay Meeting of Stevenson's Trophy Committee

(Churston Manor Hotel, Brixham)Fri 31 7:30pm Torbay Annual Dinner (The Paignton Club, Paignton)FebruaryThu 6 7:30pm East Devon Lynne Ingram Managing Bees for Oilseed Rape

(Kilmington Village Hall)

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DECEMBEROCTOBER

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WHY NOT ENTER THE 2020 NATIONAL BEE SUPPLIES PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION (#NBSPOTY) FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FEATURE IN OUR 2021 CALENDAR.With over 1000 entries the National Bee Supplies Photographer of the Year competition (#nbspoty) that we ran throughout the summer of 2019, was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the wonderful world of bees. In our 2020 calendar we’ve selected some of our favourites to share with you.

If you’re an experienced lens-smith or just like taking snaps, keep an eye out for 2020 competition. Details will be published on the blog in the New Year.

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Directions from Exeter (A30)

Take the fi rst turning for Okehampton and go over the bridge towards

town. Right into ‘Beardown Road’ by the 30mph signs, then right into

‘Hameldown Road’.

HOW TO FIND US

Directions from Cornwall (A30)

Take the second turning for Okehampton and turn left from the slip road towards the town. Right into ‘Beardown Road’ by the 30mph signs, then right into ‘Hameldown Road’.

4806 NBS Calendar.indd 28 25/09/2019 11:02

The calendar also contains over £350 of seasonal beekeeping vouchers for you to make next season a buzzing success. Better yet, we are proud to donate £1 from every calendar sold to the BBKA (British Beekeepers Association) to help contribute towards their vital work.

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*while stocks last. Excludes calendar.

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Nuclei for sale from Beeza Ltd, Kingsbridge, South Hams, on Commercial or National frames available from April. £170 plus returnable deposit on transport box. Please contact Martin or Melanie on 01548 853502, mobile 07914 002831 or email info@beeza.co.uk

For Sale

6-frame overwintered nucs with local bred queens. £170.00 collection only. For more details and to order, please contact Imogen – Artemis Bees 07910235891 or email: imohall@yahoo.co.ukHoney for sale The Newton Abbot Branch have honey for sale at £4 per lb in 30lb tubs (approx weight). If you are interested then please contact Ruth Mountford by e-mail at ruth.mountford@tiscali.co.uk

1

Makers of fi nest quality bee hives

Candle Mould Kits to make 5 Candles

6" Smoker and Guardwith a 1kg bag of smoker bark

Leather Gloves and Hive Tool sizes 7-12

introducing the

Created by the NBS Colony

NATIONAL BEE SUPPLIES CALENDAR

We were genuinely blown away by the quality of photographs entered into our photography competition, #nbspoty, and have decided to showcase the winner and some of the runners-up in our fi rst ever calendar. Just in case you needed another reason to view the very best images from our competition.

592747WAS £30NOW £20

CALENDAR 2020

Visit our shop: National Bee Supplies, Hameldown House, Hameldown Road, Exeter Road Industrial Estate, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1UB. Shop opening hours: (9 - 5 Mon - Fri & 9 - 1 Saturdays between 1st Mar & 30 Sept)

DECEMBEROCTOBER

AUGUSTJUNE

APRILFEBRUARY

NOVEMBERSEPTEMBER

JULYMAY

MARCHJANUARY

4806

/ P

rod

uct

cod

e 59

26

36

National Bee SuppliesTo see our full range go to our website: www.beekeeping.co.ukor call us on: 0844 326 2010 to order our new catalogue.See website for full terms and conditions.National Bee Supplies is a division of Suttons Consumer Products Ltd.

Petrol Station

BP Garage

Okehampton

Bear

dow

n Rd

Hameldown Road

WHY NOT ENTER THE 2020 NATIONAL BEE SUPPLIES PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION (#NBSPOTY) FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FEATURE IN OUR 2021 CALENDAR.With over 1000 entries the National Bee Supplies Photographer of the Year competition (#nbspoty) that we ran throughout the summer of 2019, was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the wonderful world of bees. In our 2020 calendar we’ve selected some of our favourites to share with you.

If you’re an experienced lens-smith or just like taking snaps, keep an eye out for 2020 competition. Details will be published on the blog in the New Year.

blog.beekeeping.co.uk/nbspoty

Directions from Exeter (A30)

Take the fi rst turning for Okehampton and go over the bridge towards

town. Right into ‘Beardown Road’ by the 30mph signs, then right into

‘Hameldown Road’.

HOW TO FIND US

Directions from Cornwall (A30)

Take the second turning for Okehampton and turn left from the slip road towards the town. Right into ‘Beardown Road’ by the 30mph signs, then right into ‘Hameldown Road’.

4806 NBS Calendar.indd 28 25/09/2019 11:02

The calendar also contains over £350 of seasonal beekeeping vouchers for you to make next season a buzzing success. Better yet, we are proud to donate £1 from every calendar sold to the BBKA (British Beekeepers Association) to help contribute towards their vital work.

592764 size 7 WAS £26.45 NOW £20592766 size 8 WAS £26.45 NOW £20592767 size 9 WAS £26.45 NOW £20592761 size 10 WAS £26.45 NOW £20592762 size 11 WAS £26.45 NOW £20592763 size 12 WAS £26.45 NOW £20

National Hive KitVentilated Floor, Brood Chamber, Galvanised Queen Excluder, Super, Cover Board with 2 Porter Bee Escapes, 6” Flat Roof.

592746 Assembled WAS £249.05 NOW £205592744 Flat Pack WAS £206.05 NOW £155

592748 Teddy WAS £29.15 NOW £25

592751 Bees on combWAS £27.75 NOW £23

592749 Santa WAS £26.35 NOW £20

APRILFEBRUARY MARCHJANUARY

CALENDAR 2020APRILMARCH

FREE

Christm

as Card

with all g

ifts

purchased*

Over £350 of

seasonal beekeeping

vouchers

www.beekeeping.co.uk 0844 326 2010 info@beekeeping.co.ukVisit our shop: Hameldown House, Hameldown Road, Exeter Road Industrial Estate, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1UB

*while stocks last. Excludes calendar.

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Holsworthy Beekeepers ConventionHolsworthy Memorial Hall

Holsworthy EX22 6DJ

Saturday 22 February, 2020Adults £20, Juniors £10

Advance booking essential

Talks by:

Dr Anthony Williams from COLOSS,

Paula Carnell

and

Prof Stephen Martin

Trade stallsSee www.holsworthy.org.uk for more details

Printed by Newton Print, Collett Way, Brunel Ind. Estate, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4PHTel: 01626 368986 - www.newtonprint.co.uk